Switching up the flow of news from the upcoming Doctor Strange movie, Kevin Feige has dropped some more (guarded) info on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Phase Three of their leviathan-esque franchise kicking off in 2016, Feige and company gave waiting fans what they can in way of news during a recent interview with Empire.

Among the topics discussed were Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor, the recently acquired character of Spider-Man and — by no shall we forget — the Black Panther!

On Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, sequel to 2014’s summer blockbuster hit, Feige had this for us about the different iterations of the galaxy’s most uncoath team of ‘kinda-sorta’ superheroes;

“There’ve been many different incarnations of the Guardians over the years in the comics and we’ll catch a glimpse of additions over the course of the movie.”

About Thanos, the Marvel franchise’s looming villain who will undoubtedly go against the team (whichever incarnation that may be), Feige says;

“I wouldn’t look too hard in that movie for Thanos. The next time we see Thanos he will not be messing around. It will be, ‘Oh, that’s why they’ve been teasing this villain for five years!”

From cosmic threats down to the street level, Feige offered a word or two on the status of our friendly neighborhood web-head as well, and his stake in the broader MCU.

“Smaller scale is all relative….”, says Feige. “It’s going to be as big and spectacular a Spider-Man film as has ever been made. But it’s a Peter Parker story and has more opportunity to be focused on the story of a 15-year-old kid going to high school.”

From high school to the halls of Asgard, Feige went on to talk about what we may (or may not) expect from the upcoming Thor sequel, Ragnarok.

“I don’t think people will read into that title alone [regarding] what the movie’s going to be. It’s going to be, perhaps, as totally different from the two prior Thor movies as Winter Soldier was from the first Captain America. We want to take it to new places, we’ve got new characters that will show how big we’re swinging on this. And we have a Hulk… The film takes place within the cosmos primarily, which is to say, frankly, very little Earth.”

Ragnarok was previously alluded to in Avengers: Age of Ultron and — judging from the tone of the scene — the third Thor film hints of a particularly dire situation for our thunder god and his Asgardian brethren.

And last — yet certainly not least — Feige talked about the upcoming, increasingly anticipated, Black Panther film, its cast, as well as its connection to the MCU.

“This one is important,” Feige says “It’s a big geo-political action adventure that focuses on the family and royal struggle of T’Challa in Wakanda, and what is means to be a king. T’Challa’s story is very important to us as it links to the next Avengers films, which is why we brought it forward.”

Currently, Phase Three of the MCU will consist of; Captain America: Civil War, which will be released on May 6, 2016. Doctor Strange, slated for release on November 4, 2016, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 on May 5, 2017, the yet untitled Spider-Man film on July 28, 2017, Thor:Ragnarok is scheduled for release on November 3, 2017, with Black Panther following suit on February 6, 2018.

All this leads up to the Avengers: Infinity War Part I on May 4, 2018, followed by Ant-Man & Wasp on July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, Avengers: Infinity War Part II on May 3, 2019 and *shakes exhausted fingers* Marvel’s The Inhumans on July 12, 2019.

ALL this…with yet three more untitled Marvel film project set for May 1, 2020, July 10, 2020, and November 6, 2020. It indeed will be a busy time for the studio and comic film nerds alike.

And while all this takes shape, be sure to stay plugged in to SE’s Comic Nook News as it all develops.

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It has most definitely been a Strange week in Comic Nook News. Details have been steadily pouring in about the upcoming Marvel film, and today’s bit of news is no different. During an interview with EW, Marvel’s Kevin Feige gave some scintillating details on what we can expect from the world of Strange. Tilda Swinton’s (Snowpiercer, Constantine) role as the enigmatic Ancient One, and Chewitel Ejiofor’s (12 Years A Slave) were discussed. On the matter of Swinton playing the role of a character who — in the comics — was an elderly Asian man, Feige had this to say;

“We’re never afraid to change. In the comic books, Jarvis is an elderly butler. In the movies, he’s an A.I. system which becomes Paul Bettany’s Vision. We are always looking for ways to change. I think if you look at some of the early incarnations of the Ancient One in the comics, they are what we would consider today to be quite, sort of, stereotypical. They don’t hold up to what would work today. Also, within the storyline of the comics, and our movie, ‘the Ancient One’ is a title that many people have had. We hit very early on on, What if the Ancient One was a woman? What if the title had been passed and the current Ancient One is a woman? Oh, that’s an interesting idea. [Clicks fingers.] Tilda Swinton! Whoah! And it just hit.”

On the Ancient One’s methods, gender, its importance in the film, as well as her mysterious nature, it makes [her] a bit of a coin toss.

“Look, she’s a chameleon in everything she does,” Feige went on to say. “She has this amazing [ability to] harness of this androgynous sense. So, we use the term ‘her’ and ‘she’ in the film but, other than that, it’s very androgynous. Because it doesn’t matter.”

As for Baron Mordo, actor Chiwetel Ejiofor gave a bit of insight on his relationship with the Ancient One, his feelings towards Stephen Strange and his standing as a ‘sorcerer’;

“In terms of his life with the Ancient One, it’s this long and intense relationship they have that’s just very deep and very connected,” Ejiofor said. “I think they both recognize in Strange this certain quality that they feel is going to be very useful in a situation they’re in — just by the nature of who he is, and the way that he operates, and the way his mind works, and the certain skill set and personality that he has. So, when they all meet, they realize that he’s somebody that can be plugged into this very surreal, interesting, sort of fascinating circumstance that they’re all in, and the dangers that they face. And so it becomes a process of assimilating him into their ways of life.”

And on the matter of Mordo’s descent into villainy?

“Oh, he’s a very complex character that, really, I don’t think can be nailed down either way, you know. I guess it’s something to experience, is what I’d say.”

So yes, of course Ejiofor — rather slyly — manages to dodge the answer. I suppose only time will tell if Baron Mordo will go the way of the dark mage in the upcoming film.

Directed by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Deliver Us From Evil) and boasting a script by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus, Passengers), Doctor Strange is slated for theater release on November 4, 2016. 

Doctor Strange will be an origin story about the titular neurosurgeon who, after a horrific accident is left without the use of his hands, embarks on a journey into the realm of magic, mysticism and the vastness of alternate dimensions.

As always, stay plugged in to SE for more Comic Nook News as it develops.

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“He can do a whole host of things, eventually,” says Feige. “He does cast spells, which in the comics have very sort of tongue-twisty fun names. We don’t want to shy away from that, because that’s what makes Doctor Strange Doctor Strange. He has a Cloak of Levitation that allows him to fly, but he doesn’t fly like Superman or like Thor. It’s almost got a consciousness of its own, this cloak, which, again, gives us a superhero with a red cape — which we’ve seen a few times — but allows us to do it in a wholly unique and wholly original way. He can create these mandalas of light that he can use as shields and he can use as sort of weapons. He can create portals that will open before your eyes that he can step through and go to other places around the world. And frankly, even in this film, we’ll only touch upon what a lot of his powers are.”

Feige also mentioned the famed Eye of Agamatto;“The Cloak of Levitation [and] the Eye of Agamotto are his two signature pieces. In this film, the Eye is a very important relic that can be quite dangerous if used in the wrong hands, because it has the ability to do any number of things, the most dangerous of which is, it can sort of manipulate probabilities. Which is also another way of saying, ‘screw around with time’ — which is part of our story.”

Following the general schematic of any superhero film, Doctor Strange will be an origin story about the titular neurosurgeon who, after a horrific accident is left without the use of his hands, embarks on a journey into the realm of magic, mysticism and the vastness of alternate dimensions.

Doctor Strange stars Benedict Cumberbatch as our titular surgeon and (eventual) sorcerer supreme along with Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One and(Constantine, Only Lovers Left Alive) Chiwetel Ejiofor (Serenity, 12 Years a Slave) as ‘Karl’ Mordo, Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Pawn Sacrifice) Rachel McAdams (The Vow, The Notebook) and Scott Adkins (The Bourne Ultimatum) in yet unknown roles, Amy Landecker (Transparent) and Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal) acting as the film’s villain.

Directed by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Deliver Us From Evil) and boasting a script by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus, Passengers), Doctor Strange is slated for theater release on November 4, 2016. 

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“When this comic appeared in the early ’60s, it really informed, in a way that is pretty amazing, a lot of the psychedelic ’60s as we know it. I don’t know that they were doing anything weird in the bullpen in Marvel, but certainly the stuff they were doing inspired all those people who were doing mind-expansion experiments at the time. So, that’s inherent to the property. And that’s our mission statement for the visual effects on this movie.”

Benedict Cumberbatch — Doctor Strange himself — added to Feige’s description with; “There’s all sorts of craziness [in Doctor Strange]. Falling, flying, jumping, fighting, punching, getting punched. It’s really rough and tumble.”

A psychedelic, ‘rough and tumble’ superhero movie utilizing magic? Could be interesting. But what of the film’s cast? After all, a film relies heavily on the characters portrayed in it, right?  Particularly when it comes to the film’s villain/s. With Cumberbatch playing the lead role, and being supported by brilliant actors such as Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mads Mikkelsen, expectations can be pretty high.

“Mads is playing our main villain,” said executive producer Stephen Broussard.

To this reveal, Feige added; “We will take audiences through sort of a guide to the multiverse, other dimensions, and there are amazing things out there — wonders that are going to be hopefully visually extremely interesting and unique to this movie. But there are also very scary things in these other dimensions. Mads’ character is a sorcerer who breaks off into his own sect. [He] believes that the Ancient One is just protecting her own power base and that the world may be better off if we were to allow some of these other things through.”

And as for actor Rachel McAdams ever-elusive role in the upcoming film? “Rachel McAdams plays a fellow surgeon that has a history with Strange and is his sort of lynchpin to his old life, once he steps into he role of a sorcerer,” says Feige. “She is someone he connects with at the beginning, and reconnects with, and helps anchor his humanity.”

Broussard added to the discourse with; “Rachel McAdams is sort of [Doctor Strange’s] contemporary in the modern-day New York world, before and after he goes on this crazy journey. “So, she sees him before, she sees him after. She’s kind of this audience point of view.”

With this new bit of info, my earlier prediction of McAdams playing the role of Clea has been shot full-on in the face. Indeed, McAdams — based on Feige and Broussard’s clues — is in fact NOT Strange’s predestined and highly power mage apprentice, but rather a non-magical character named Gina Atwater.

Atwater, a fellow surgeon and estranged (no pun intended) ex of Strange, appeared in the 2007 animated film Doctor Strange: The Ssorcerer Supreme, in which Atwater served a very similar role as the one Feige and Broussard hint to with McAdams.

Doctor Strange is slated to hit theaters on November 4, 2016. As always, stay plugged in to SE for more Comic Nook News as it develops.

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